Bark Control & Collars

Bark Control Collars, Outdoor Bark Control and Area Bark Control products.

Dog barking control devices such as bark collars can train your dog to stop excessive barking and deliver the silence you and your neighbors deserve. We offer many types of bark control collars from electronic and ultrasonic bark control to Citronella or citrus spray bark control. We also offer bark control devices that do not require your dog to wear a collar.

Not sure what type of Bark Control you need? Review our summary to compare bark control collars and bark control products that we offer to help you narrow down your search.

Do you have a dog with a barking problem? There are many training products available to help stop dog barking no matter the breed or size of your dog. In fact if you need a small dog bark collar there are several models available that have super small, lightweight receivers.

Let's first understand the issue. It is important to be aware there are
actually two types of barking:

Self-rewarding dog barking

Attention-seeking dog barking

Self-Rewarding Dog Barking ControlSelf-rewarding dog barking is when a dog barks at visitors, at another dog or
at someone walking by. As with all dog training, you should
correct
the undesirable
behavior and then teach and reinforce the correct
behavior.

Barking is a natural behavior that in and of itself is not wrong. It's okay for a dog to bark
at a knock at the door or a disturbance outside. The key is the dog needs to
know
to stop barking
when told, or how to not bark continuously. Use of the command "Enough" or "Quiet" is
good for this purpose.

You should not use the command word "No" to stop dog barking.
For training purposes "No" means do not do this behavior ever again. "Enough" means
the behavior itself is fine but that is enough for now. Often people tell their
dog "No" and he goes back and does the behavior again in 5 minutes.
That is usually because the owners have used "No" too broadly.
All dogs need an "Enough" command as well as a "No" command
in their training vocabulary.

Start with the dog on a leash so you have control of the situation and then
put him in a situation where you usually want to stop dog barking. When your dog barks, give
the "Enough" command and if he stops to look at you, then praise
him profusely. If he doesn’t stop barking, then you will need to interfere
to make him stop. What method you use will depend tremendously on your dog's
personality. You may use anything from a hand applying slight pressure down
on top of the nose (not a slap), a spray in the mouth with a training spray
like bitter apple, or a collar correction. Do not use harsh handling or hitting.
As soon as the dog quits barking you MUST praise him. This is how they learn
what the command means. If they start again then give the command "Enough" again
and give the correction. Again, once they stop, praise. Pretty soon you have
taught that "Enough" means stop doing that.

CAUTION:

If your dog has aggression or fear issues you should only use bark control devices or a bark collar
under the guidance of a professional. Do not try to correct growling with a bark collar. If
you have a dog who growls at you, other people, or other dogs, then you
should consider consulting a professional trainer as there could be other
issues that need to be addressed.

Correcting a growl without addressing the
reason can lead to a dog that bites without warning. Aggressive
and fear behaviors require excellent understanding of behavior, timing, leadership,
and a balance of motivation and control.

Attention-Seeking BarkingIf a dog's goal
is to bark at his owner to get attention, then focusing on him to correct the
behavior may unintentionally be rewarding the behavior. An example of this
may be when you are sitting down in a chair and your dog wants something
(play,
food, etc.) so he stands back and barks
at you waiting for a response.

Any response at this time might reinforce the dog's behavior. This particularly applies to a tough and pushy dog. Initially you should ignore any attention barking and don't make eye contact. Many people turn, look at their dog and then tell him to be quiet or may physically correct him only to have it happen over and over. The dog is learning that barking makes his owner focus on him.

This is an ideal situation for using bark collars as they do not in any way give the dog attention from the owner. However, it's important for you to understand that if you sometimes allow your dog to demand attention by pawing, nudging, shoving his toy in your lap, etc., then you are unintentionally reinforcing demanding behavior. Be consistent. Don't allow behaviors that at other times you will dislike and be mad at.

When should I use a bark collar?

It is recommended that you use a dog bark collar
once you have already taught the "enough" command and know your
dog's personality. Often when dogs get off the leash in the yard or when
the owner is out of reach, the dog will continue to bark to the dismay of the
neighbors and the owner. Sometimes dogs need correction to understand behaviors
are not acceptable. A bark collar is a perfectly suitable means of providing this correction.

Which is the best bark collar for my dog?

This is a very individual selection as bark collars come in several technology
options. We carry ultrasonic
bark control collars as well as sonic bark control collars. Both of these use an annoying sound or tone to teach dogs to stop excessive barking. The difference is that most humans cannot hear ultrasonic tones, but sonic tones are quite loud and can be heard by both humans and dogs. Sonic or ultrasonic bark collars may not deliver enough correction for headstrong or stubborn dogs, but for soft and easy-going dogs usually works very well. There are also area bark control
products that use sonic or ultrasonic
technology so the dog doesn't actually wear a bark collar. As you might imagine, these products are wildly popular with people who want to stop a neighbor's dog barking in the middle of night.

The newest options
are spray bark
collars such as the Innotek Citronella Bark Collar. Citronella is harmless but annoying to dogs (and it won't stain clothing or other fabric). Spray bark collars work on
many dogs but there are some dogs that will bark right through the spray. Again, these are often good choices for soft dogs or fearful dogs. Lastly, there are bark collars that deliver static shock corrections. Shock collars have many options including self-adjusting progressive correction levels versus
manual settings, rechargeable versus replaceable batteries, variable levels
of correction, etc. These choices of bark collars or bark control products are all up to the individual. Electric bark
collars work with almost every dog, even with the more difficult cases.

How do I stop dog barking with a bark collar?

Most dog barking collars come with instructions but
here are a few pointers:

1. If the bark collar has manual settings then start with the lowest levels and
see if it is enough to stop dog barking. Only increase the levels if you see the dog feels nothing.
When working with electric bark collars, the goal is not to hear the dog yelp
or be terrified. You are looking for the level where the dog acknowledges the
correction but not so high that he is afraid or in pain. Especially when they
are in the learning process, you want the correction level on the bark collar to be low enough
where they can figure out what is going on.

2. When training, do not allow your dog to get his first few corrections while near another dog or a person. Sometimes dogs become startled and think whatever
is near them caused the pain and may result in your dog lashing out. Sometimes
you can not tell which dogs are going to do this. It is sort of like jumping
out and saying “boo” to a person. Some people get startled with
no big deal and some get startled and strike out. Dogs are the same way. One
example is about two Jack Russell terriers (JRT). The owner put a bark collar
on one of her JRT (the one who barked so much) and put both out in the yard.
As a neighbor came out of their house that JRT began to bark with the other
JRT right next to her. She immediately turned around and attacked the other
dog. She was never able to safely cohabit with that other dog again.

3. For a bark collar to work, both contacts must be touching the skin cleanly.
If the bark collar does not fit tightly enough you will get at best an inconsistent
correction. Be sure the collar is snug enough yet allows you to insert a finger between the tip of the probes and your dog's neck.

CAUTION:
Dog barking collars are not meant to be worn for long periods of time. (Check your manual; time maximums are not all the same.) Skin irritations can occur, or an even worse condition called Pressure Necrosis, which is a devitalization of the skin (similar to bed sores) due to excessive and prolonged contact against training collar probes.

The 24-hour contact pad will give you peace of mind knowing that your dog will not suffer skin irritation from wearing his or her collar, even if worn for longer than the recommended time.

The 24-hour contact pad redistributes stimulation through many points of contact rather than the standard two prongs.

An additional benefit is that field-test results have shown that some people have been able to stop dog barking quicker, easier, and with far less confusion (stress), and, in many cases, at lower levels of stimulation.

The 24-hour contact pad fits most Dogtra, TriTronics, Innotek, DT Systems, and PetPal collars. It may fit other brands of collars with 1-1/4" spacing between contacts. (Does NOT fit SportDog or PetSafe collars).